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Grafting to improve nitrogen‐use efficiency traits in tobacco plants
Author(s) -
Ruiz Juan M,
Rivero Rosa M,
Cervilla Luis M,
Castellano Rosa,
Romero Luis
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
journal of the science of food and agriculture
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.782
H-Index - 142
eISSN - 1097-0010
pISSN - 0022-5142
DOI - 10.1002/jsfa.2450
Subject(s) - cultivar , rootstock , nitrate reductase , grafting , nitrogen , horticulture , agronomy , nitrate , yield (engineering) , biomass (ecology) , biology , chemistry , ecology , materials science , organic chemistry , metallurgy , polymer
Nitrate plays a major role in the yield and quality of tobacco plants. This work explored the nitrogen‐use efficiency (NUE) and how it can be affected by grafting. Two experiments were designed: in the first, using six commercial tobacco cultivars, the best cultivar for the NUE was selected and analysed for foliar NO 3 − content, total N, nicotine and nitrate reductase (NR) activity. The results showed the cultivar H‐20 to have the best performance on NUE. It was further featured by the highest NR activity and total N and by the lowest NO 3 − and nicotine content, resulting in the highest foliar leaf biomass production and quality. In the second experiment it was tested whether the cultivar H‐20 could be used as rootstock to improve the NUE of the other cultivars under study. The results showed that the grafted plants had improved the NO 3 − assimilation with respect to non‐grafted plants. Hence grafting tobacco plants can be used as a quick and effective method to improve NUE, which has beneficial implications for human health and for a reduction in environmental pollution. Copyright © 2006 Society of Chemical Industry